All quotes from https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/press-release/2019/04/rape-and-sexual-violence-in-nordic-countries-consent-laws/

“Social stigma and a lack of trust in the justice system often mean that women and girls fail to report attacks, and those that do, are frequently failed by callous and prejudiced justice systems or outdated laws. One survivor told us she would never have reported her rape if she had known how she would have been be treated, and her story is typical in justice systems which are stacked against rape survivors.”

Whilst the situation facing survivors of rape is not uniform across the four Nordic countries, there are disturbing parallels among them whose criminal justice systems ignore, deny and tacitly condone sexual violence against women.

That’s rape culture.

 

I’m a child of rape. Please don’t talk to me about it if you wish to belittle the problem. Please don’t talk to any women about it, it’s far too possible they’re a rape survivor and haven’t told you, and they do not want to hear about your ignorance.

Just shut up in general about this issue if you do not understand. We don’t need your lack of belief that this is an issue.

As a rape survivor, for my mental health, I will block you if you engage with me on this. Just shut up: my mental health is more important than your questions. Do not even post a “you must be brave” or “I’m sorry to hear it” or “I didn’t mean it”. My trauma doesn’t exist for you to score virtue points. My trauma does not exist for you to defend your government and legal system, which you think are very good. I don’t care about that - that’s your belief, and you are welcome to it. Just don’t reply. Thank you.

 

Every year, around 50,000 women in Finland experience sexual violence, including rape. Most of those responsible for these crimes are never brought to justice. In 2017 only 209 convictions were secured for rape.

That’s rape culture.

Norwegian authorities have not taken the necessary measures to prevent rape and other forms of sexual violence or to address the consequences when such crimes occur. Prevailing and erroneous myths about rape make it hard for rape victims to report the crime to the police or to seek medical help. They also influence the way rape cases are handled by the criminal justice system.

That’s rape culture.

Harmful attitudes will not be suddenly changed by a change in the law. A recent study found that that almost one in 10 people in Sweden agreed that gender-based violence against women is often provoked by the victim herself. One survivor told Amnesty International: ”I even got that comment from my mother. She said ’I have always tried to teach you how to dress.’”

That’s rape culture.

Rape in Denmark is hugely under-reported and even when women do go to the police, the chances of prosecution or conviction are very slim. Of the 24,000 women found by a recent study to have experienced rape or attempted rape in 2017 alone, just 890 rapes were reported to the police. Of these, 535 resulted in prosecutions and only 94 in convictions.

That’s rape culture.

In 2018, Amnesty analysed rape legislation in 31 European countries, and only eight of them have laws that define sex without consent as rape.

That’s rape culture.